Concert for Two
Warming Up "Believe it, sir!" Jenks's voice filled the small room. A room amongst many within the Purgatory Ship of the Notch Pirates. It was decked at Meatcroft Island, a place widely known for not only being the house of many meat factories, but also one of the recent territories of the Notch. Some of the Emprises at Meatcroft had also estabilished themselves back at Paradise. With it being a territory of Notch, there were several members of its crew present. "It truly has one of the most beautiful herbs I've seen!" Jenks continued, gushing at Blumenthal Gerhard, who sat over a desk while analyzing some transparent pots. Gerhard rolled his eyes and puffed his cheeks, "Wha' th'fuck d'ya know 'bout herbs, Jenks?" He even stopped polishing the pots, which contained several herbs each. In a exaspered breath, Jenks stuttered, "S-Sir, I was a farmer o-once!" Gerhard blinked, prompting Jenks to respond the same way. The man had been a farmer, then a navigator, then a doctor? "...Good shit," Gerhard commented and was, then, back to cleaning his pots. "If that's true... I wonder f'I can fake somethin', a mission." Jenks almost jumped from his place, was his boss truly putting so much faith in him? "Hmmmm, I shouldn't go dere alone..." Perching up, Jenks proposed, "What if I call one of the Eight Knights?" Gerhard tilted his head to speak, but Jenks hurried out of the door, "I'll do that!!" The former only shook his head and focused back on his pots. ---- Although the island wasn't that big, it still possessed a lot of factories over its landscape, many of which Jenks ran through. All of them painted the island with a deep grey, also releasing a lot of smoke from their tops. He really wished he could find Sir Alistair or any of the Knights soon, the former because he was basically the leader to the group. As luck would have it, walking through the streets of Meatcroft was no other than Al Khalifa Ain, one of the Eight Knights. Although her movements were stealthy in the rather normal setting, her outfit distinguished her from the many civilians that coursed up and down the roads of the island. As she walked with silent steps, her left hand gripping her blade's handle, Ain spotted a red-haired man, with a look of worry on his face, running in the opposite direction. "Hm, is that not a member of my divison?" Instantly, Jenks turned his head at the presence of Ain, particularly of her clothes, having ran past her. "K-Khalifa-san," He managed out, sweat going over his pale frame, "I was in search of one of you!" As the man approached, Ain recognized him as Jenks, a doctor of her crew. She raised one of her eyebrows as she stared at the man in confusion. "How may I help you, Jenks?" she asked, her hand leaving her blade's handle. "It's nice t-to see you! I talk about Gerhard-boss!" Jenks flailed his arms around, there was no way he was going to say it, "Can you meet him at the docks?" Oh boy, he really was, and to a Knight on top of that. "S-Sir Ascalon has given him a mission of utmost importance, like, you m-must aid him-" "I have given him what?" Came the voice of none other than Ascalon himself, while he stepped out of a factory in the background. "Greetings, Belphegor," He nodded at Ain, "Crow's Beak," Then at Jenks, the latter paling even more at the Mink's presence. How unconvenient it was for him to just have been there close. "He can't be talking about that mission..." Ascalon arched one of his eyebrows. Eyes glancing to one side and the other, Jenks stuttered, "I-I was informing Khalifa-san of her mission, so she is to go with Ger-boss!" No way, now it was a Knight and an Apocalypse. "That mission...?" Could it have been, the mission to rise amongst the Horsemen and prove oneself? "Y-Yeah." Ascalon cupped his chin, "I see..." He glanced forward, Jenks gulped. "So it really must be that mission!" Jenks nodded with a sudden smile. Trying not to tighten his fist, Ascalon continued to reason mentally, "Freyja said Gerhard wasn't as loyal as the others, but he is already going for that mission." "Yes, that mission!" Jenks gulped, legs moving much like they had their own lives. "Good, that mission!" Ascalon clapped briefly, looking at Ain then and smiling, "I wish you good luck, Belphegor!" "Thank you, Ascalon. I will do my best to make sure that I accomplish the mission properly," she said bowing down. A habit. She then turned towards to Jenks, who was sweating so profusely, one could fill a bottle with the liquid. It was evident the man was nervous. "Shall we be off then Jenks? To the docks that is." With Ascalon hurrying away without a thought, Jenks only nodded at Ain's words and managed a smile. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all, it was going to be a peaceful trip, in a peaceful island, with peaceful people- Maybe not. Gerhard had told him that, apparently, Freyja had been really questioned during that meeting at Brine, maybe those Alliance guys were truly tougher than they seemed. This would be good, maybe they could show it was a good idea after all. Walking alongside Ain, Jenks held himself from talking to her, after all, they weren't too close, nor were he too talkative. Nevertheless, the walk was quick, the visages around them were repetitive, yet, boredoom didn't attack. Both stood before the vessel of Purgatory, the ship that pertained to whoever claimed the Horseman of Conquest Title. It was majestic. Ain had seen it countless times but still could not help but be surprised. Although at first, it resembled any normal pirate ship, the figurehead of the ship was a black unicorn. Its size was also bigger compared to many vessels. After staring at it in awe, Ain turned to Jenks. "So, where is the Commander?" she asked. "Why, hello!" A voice echoed from the ship, pertaining to a head that sprouted from one of the windows on its side. "I'mma' here," It was Gerhard, he waved while his cheeks were puffed and his eyes closed. Then, they opened, "Oh, so it's Ms. Ain that's come with us?" Jenks motioned for Ain to go into the ship with him, "Y-Yes, she is willing to help you out boss!!" He cheered. "Why, enter enter," Gerhard ducked his inside back inside the window, quickly walking through the quarters of the ship and into the deck. "Glad to have ya', didn't think anyone'd come..." He tilted his head with a frown, voice still a bit muffled by his mask. The corners of Ain's mouth etched into a small smile as Gerhard waved at them, she nodded from a distance. She approached the ship, walking into its deck. She tilted her head in response. "Why wouldn't anyone come?" she asked, although it came out more blunt than she intended, the question was genuine. For a second, Gerhard's eyes widened, "Oh, um," He waved again, "Y'know, all tha' shit on choosin' what Horseman to support." Yes, indeed, then they had to prove to the higher-ups of the crew just how much they deserved Freyja's loyalty, how great. "...Not like we weren't already," Words that went muffled by his beak, while he strolled towards the master cabin. Beat, in a breath Gerhard halted before passing through the open door, "Plus, like, I'm just th'Doctor." Shoulders rising in a shrug, Gerhard finally entered the place, "We'll be settin' sail y'all." He yelled from inside, prompting most men to hurry and run around. Stirring Up Meanwhile, at Meatcroft still, other members of the Notch Pirates seemingly assembled. They all walked into one of the island's main factories, at least, it was the one with the most free space to circulate around. After all, they all needed to fit in. Standing tall amongst the crowd of factory workers and pirate grunts was Ascalon. "Now-gara- Hmph," He coughed and whipped his head around, hopefully no one noticed. "Now, Notch Pirates! I wish for whoever is here from our elite members to present themselves!" Ascalon put a hand forward. Sailing Up Gerhard's previous response had made Ain think deeply. She sat in the bed of the room she was assigned, with her legs crossed. "I still wonder what he meant..." she said as she uncrossed her legs and stroked her chin. "Well, it won't do any good to keep pondering." she sat up from the bed and grabbed her sword and mask from the nightstand then made her way out of the room. Walking down the wooden hallway, with quiet steps as if to not disturb anyone. As she was about to walk up the stairs and into the deck, she encountered a brown-skinned young woman, that she had surprisingly, never seen before. "Excuse me, I am Al Khalifa Ain and I believe we've never met but may I have your name?" Ain asked, extending her hand. The aforementioned woman swiftly turned around, eyes wide and a sandwich in her mouth, "O-Oh!" It entered and vanished within her lips, "Y-You're the Hell Knight, Belphegor!" Her ebony skin shone by reflecting the light of a nearby lamp, however, they seemed to be completely weak in comparison to her eyes. They glimmered at the sight of Ain, "P-Pleased to meet you!" Waves went and came, hitting the sides of the ship quietly. Quite an unusual day for the New World itself. No birds sung into the dark skies. "My name is Mayana!" Mayana stretched her hand for Ain, only then noticing it was dirty with sandwich remains. With a few claps, she cleaned it and steeled herself, "I'm but a simple member of Ger-boss's squad!" Even if briefly, Mayana blinked rapidly, "I-Is there anything you need help with?" Ain was surprised by the girl's antics but smiled in response, "Please, you can call me Ain." she said. "Well, I've been away for a while from the crew, and I was wondering if you could tell me. I haven't seen the Captain in a while." Ain spoke with a tinge of worriedness in her voice, while she was usually more reserved if it concerned Freyja, she would definitely be more active. "P-Pardon, B- Ain!" Mayana's mouth twisted, yet it still tried to form a smile. Upon hearing Ain's next words, though, she blinked rapidly, mouth as a small o. "Y-You weren't informed?" Of course, it wasn't to be a question, after all, the Knight had just told her that. "W-Well," Mayana brought a finger to her lips. How could she even begin? Even she herself felt such a weight upon her shoulders when told about the subject. Suddenly, Mayana closed her eyes and slapped the sides of her face. Then, she looked directly at Ain, "So, from what I was told..." Mayana swallowed raw saliva, "Freyja-san h-has told us that she's treated us unfairly." Her gaze dropped for a few seconds, she found herself gasping when she had heard that from two of her superiors. "...She received a suggestion from Ger-boss himself," Gaze shooting up, Mayana's eyes met Ain's once again, "To have the Horsemen enter a trial... in which they seek to prove their worth to her and the crew." Another gulp, there was much work to be done, and sometimes she asked herself if it was worth it. "It- It's each of the Horsemen are seeking support and doing missions!! So they can maybe be captain!" Ain's eyes expanded momentarily as she processed the information. "Treated us unfairly? What is the captain on about?" she asked herself. What could Freyja possibly mean?! Ain shook her head as a way to return back to the present. Her gaze met Mayana's, her demeanor calm once again. "So that's what the Commander is doing. Perhaps he wants to win and if that is the case I suppose I shall assist." Ain walked towards the girl, extending her hand once more. "Well, thank you for your time Mayana, let us both do our best in this mission." A smile. A genuine smile formed on the knight known as Belphegor. "I think she refers to how she hid behind Ascalon-san..." Mayana almost cowered, glancing to her sides, "But... still, yes, that's what I think as well!" After all, he was a man with dreams, a man with resolve, right? Almost jumping at the gesture, Mayana blinked but extended both her hands, gripping Ain's single one. "It's my pleasure, Ain-san! Likewise," Letting go of the woman's hand, Mayana turned around swiftly. Before she entered a door, however, Mayana hushed briefly and talked to Ain once again, "We'll be getting there in some hours, by dawn." She had to make sure Ain and the others were informed after all. No one was a better information person than her. "Alright, thank you, Mayana," Ain responded before she walked away. Once Mayana was gone, Ain began to walk once again, pondering of what to do with the remaining time. "Hmm, maybe I should visit the Commander," nodding to herself, Ain strolled through a couple of stairs that would lead her to the main deck, where she would see many of her comrades working hard. She then continued down to the master's cabin and knocked on the door. Upon the sound of knocking, Gerhard's voice responded, "Com'n," Should Ain do so following the next moment, she would find herself looking at a rather simple cabin. A shelf filled with books and what seemed to be flasks stood to the left, while to the right was a desk, not too big, but not too small. It had a book over it, next to it some sort of pencil. Gerhard himself stood in the middle of the cabin, behind a desk that had some log poses over them. Used as a seat behind the desk was a bed, a small one. "What s'it?" Gerhard asked upon the silence. Much like Gerhard asked her to, Ain walked in, closing the door behind her carefully. She approached the table and looked intently at the man. "Well, I'd like to know more about the mission before we get to our destination. I want to know if I'm well-prepared or not." she said. "Oh," Was the single thing that came out of Gerhard's muffled mouth. Shit, what could he even- No, she was a person from his crew, she had to have some satisfaction. "We're... infiltratin' a marine base," His eyebrows went up and down, the image of those shiny herbs came to his mind, "Tis' a secret really, no one woulda' even thought there was one there." A hand was waved around. Leaning towards the desk, Gerhard eyed Ain directly in her own eyes, "An' as a secret base... it's got some cool stuff." He nodded slowly, cheeks puffed as if he smiled, maybe he was. "But, th' best part's... there's no super strong officer inside." Then, Gerhard went back to his initial position, the sound of the waves against the ship reached their ears, wood creaking. "It's got these... crazy big bugs tho', so, it'll be a hard phase." Gerhard nodded, glancing nowhere for a second. "But, I know we can certainly try." Ain cocked one of her eyebrows. "Alright, I'll go get ready." Perhaps it had been fate, that Jenks had found Ain before any of the other Hell Knights, infiltration, after all, was one of her fortes. That and well, fighting. She promptly left the room and headed back to her own quarters. About half an hour later, the ship had suddenly stopped. By the sounds of quickened steps and loud voices, Ain guessed that her pirate compatriots had anchored the ship. In the middle of her room, Ain sat on her knees, with her hands interlocked. "I guess we're here, wish me luck, Father," she said, rising from the prayer position that she was previously in, Ain headed for the main deck, were she awaited for Gerhard and company to appear, before they went into the island. Fighting Up The island, Gloverive laid before Ain's eyes, eyes whose vision was almost completely covered, given the width of the land and how numerous were its mountains. These mountains had black dots over bits of their frame, while them themselves were more brown in texture. One would likely wonder how someone could even climb them. Covering most of the landscape were several trees, some of which were either strangely large or tall. Maybe, people trying to climb those mountains had a chance to survive by using their immense leaves as cushions. Some of the leaves seemed incomplete, as if something had done it on purpose, however one couldn't see any large beast or animal roaming around, no heavy step ressonated towards the beach either. While the mountains were more scattered, the trees seemed a bit closer to each other, though, they were not as numerous. The largest of them had a pretty wide and almost yellow trunk, standing at Gloverive's geographical middle. But, that was not all. From a naked eye vision, there wasn't any... Marine Building in the distance, neither to the right nor to the left. Unless, of course, there was one behind any of the mountains. Even then, what the eye couldn't see, the mind could. Apparently. "Y'all takin' care of th' ship?" Gerhard's voice went up, while he walked into the deck with other members such as Henry, Mayana, and Jenks. The latter two waved briefly at Ain, though, everyone was soon close to her. Henry scoffed, "Count on us, boy." Eyes rolling, he nevertheless smiled. Since they were close to the beach though, Henry was already putting a bridge from the ship and into the sand. "Good luck, miss Ain," Mayana cheered with a fist, while Jenks merely grinned and waved at her, again. Gerhard had been standing close to him and one, if paying attention, could see they had talked briefly. Without wasting any other second, Gerhard quickly walked through the bridge and over the beach. Saying her goodbyes as well, Ain followed closely behind Gerhard, moving from the ship and into the beach. She looked back one last time and waved at both Mayana and Jenks, a smile forming on her lips as she did so. The duo began to walk at a normal pace, "Commander, this... Marine base, do we have clues as to where it is?" Ain asked, wondering whether they were headed for the mountain, or the gigantic, yellow trunk, tree. Rising a finger, Gerhard stepped a few times and turned to look at Ain, "Okay, about that-" Hustle, the wind behind them soared within a moment and, in the blink of an eye, something crept from the forest's shadows. Sharp teeth appeared alongside flowing bits of saliva, as a large mouth covered almost Gerhard's entire figure and pulled him into the woods. In that brief moment, it didn't seem that any blood poured from the notch pirate, but, it had happened too suddenly. Furthermore, something much more notable in that moment was the owner of said mouth... Its head had large yellow eyes and several long horns sprouting at the forehehad, skin much like armour and dark blue like the night. A rupturing circle of air was born between Ain and this unknown beast, signaling the latter's retreat, something which pushed both sand and water away from that point on, possibly affecting Ain as well. Regardless, after that one was gone, many shiny eyes made themselves present from behind the nearby woods, all of them set upon Ain's figure. As the beast seemingly swallowed Gerhard, Ain was taken aback but instinctively jumped back, pulling out her sword out of its sheath. The air pressure created by the monstrous creature momentarily stunned Ain as she stabbed her scarlet sword on the ground and grabbed tightly on to it so that she wasn't blown away. She closed her eyes to prevent debris from ruining her vision. Suddenly, a chill ran through Ain's body, as if someone was watching her. Instinctively, she utilised her Kenbunshoku Haki to scan her surroundings. "Found you!" she exclaimed, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a momentarily shine and in one fluid motion, rapidly turned around, her blade carrying momentum as she did so. She swung the blade horizontally with great force and speed, releasing a slash of compressed air that made their way towards whatever or whoever, was spying on her. As she finished her attack, Ain took a fighting stance, her knees bent and her upper body slightly lowered. She would be ready to react at a moment's notice if necessary. With Ain's attack, several shadows erupted from the trees and flew into the air, in fact, their figures seemed even bigger due to obscuring the sun cast on the beach. Five in total. However, there were still some standing at the Pirate's level, frames finally revealed since Ain's slashing attack chopped off the nearby trees. Those figures were nothing more than giant insects, with the group standing before her looking like some kind of beetle species, evident by their horns. A group of Stringbeetles. Only one stepped from the woods, steps that shook the entire area. It seemed that the slash didn't proceed into the forest, rather, it had vanished into pure steam that came from one of the beetle's stretched hands. Yes, with its mere fist, it managed to counter whatever kind of attack Ain aimed for. Its yellow eyes glared directly into hers and, without any moments of thinking, it spread its long arms wide and horizontally, producing a blade of compressed air akin to Ain's. Yet, its size was twice as large and managed to cross their distance within a second. The blade of compressed air approached at incomprehensible speeds, its pressure shaking the nearby surroundings. The dust rose, the leaves rustled and Ain's hair flowed in the wind. Yet despite both the physical and psychological damage, the attack could cause, Ain didn't budge a single inch. No, she wouldn't be intimidated by this monster. Her resolve was steel and her spirit, ironclad, literally. Raising her blade so that it was over her head, her will manifested itself into the sword, taking on a black hue, which, when combined with the weapon's natural color, appeared as a very deep shade of red. With one, clean motion, Ain swung her blade downward, slicing her opponent's attack like a hot knife through butter. Strong winds roared behind her as she split the attack in two, made visible by an "X" shaped mark on the ground. "Where did you take the Commander?" Ain demanded, it was the first time her voice had risen in a long time. Of course, the stringbeetle couldn't respond, which prompted her to take the offensive. With a single step, Ain diminished the distance between her and her opponent. She knew that at close range, an advantage would be hers. Aiming a swing at the beetle's right side, Ain pulled back at the last second and instead put all her weight on her left leg, pivoting on it as she spun away from her opponent so that she ended up facing his backside. With speedy yet precise hits, she would aim multiple slashes at the back of the beetle's neck, aiming to end the fight as soon as possible. Blink, the Stringbeetle could only stare at Ain once she dealt with its attack, maybe it supposed it couldn't do anything. However, within a second, its eyes sharpened and Ain's onslaught met the back of its head, provoking a flash of an explosion that completely pushed its head forward and into the ground itself. The velocity of Ain's attack had steam come from the Stringbeetle's head, it seemed the insect really couldn't do anything... Not. Crash, by stepping forward with its right foot, the Stringbeetle kept its balance and created a small crater. No, it couldn't be down yet, it had a mission. Blood leaked from its neck, several slash marks visible upon its cuirass bested. The Stringbeetle's back shell burst open, instantly revealing a pair of nearly transparent wings, which were suddenly painted with black. Yes, Haki was a power that all living beings could harness. These wings beat once, seeking to briefly stagger their opponent, a single beat that caused a spherical shockwave originating from the Stringbeetle and pushed everything in its vicinity, but, it was short-lived. In a blink, the wings vanished, a tree was cut off and then another, and another, turrents of wind went in all directions. Through the sharpness of those, the Stringbeetle provoked a barrage of flying slashes towards Ain, cutting many of the trees and the very ground behind them. In the wings's place, one could only see some sort of black blurr coming from the shell, along with the loud buzzing noise. Steady blade in hand as the Stringbeetle, fell forward, Ain was surprised as it managed to keep its balance, which forced her to instinctively leap backward. Her efforts to stay away from the beetle’s possible next move were short-lived though, as it sprouted wings as well as a shockwave which strip the ground and the trees bare from any green. Ain groaned as the shockwave pushed her backward and into a nearby tree. She didn’t have much time to wail in pain though, as multiple slashes of compressed air flew towards her at high velocities. At the speed that they traveled she couldn’t possibly escape unscathed. So instead, she would contest it. “‘’Didn’t think I’d have to rely on it again’’” she thought to herself, she seemed rather calm for a person who was in a near-death scenario. Suddenly, Ain’s right arm took on a red-orange hue, akin to that of fire, and with its properties - quickly morphing into the shape of a claw. It was her Devil Fruit that allowed this partial transformation. Using her claw, she dug into the ground, reaching as deep as she could before mustering all of her strength pulling a large chunk of the earth itself out. Imbuing it with her Haki, she threw the projectile forward in aim to contest her opponent’s attack. Repeating the process once more, she flung out smaller chunks from the ground and imbued them with Haki. The pieces would follow quickly behind the first one, flying quickly due to Ain’s enhanced strength. It was a meeting of opposite elements and the result, at least from Ain’s eyes was an explosion. The materials clashed with one another, causing dust and debris to rise afterward, covering the area the two were currently in. Taking advantage of this, Ain moved behind the few, remaining trees, gathering her thoughts as she did so. “Just what is this creature? Is it doing this by free-will or is someone controlling it?” Ain had heard that beast tamers were quite powerful, yet she hadn’t heard of a single one that controlled a monster like this. The buzzing noise of the Stringbeetle’s wings made her focus once more in battle. She could locate the creature based just in sound but utilized her Kenbunshoku Haki just to make sure. Its figure flashed in her mind as she approached, amidst the dust. Curling her claw into a fist, she imbued it with her Haki, like she had done previously and rushed towards the creature’s backside, aiming a punch to incapacitate its wings. If the punch were to connect, her opponent would not only receive potent amounts of raw damage due to the Devil Fruit’s natural increase and strength as well as Haki, but the Stringbeetle would receive burns because of the claw’s affinity to fire. Sounds and rumbling of explosions filled the area, prompting the Stringbeetle to turn around briefly and glance upon what happened, even if barely. However, it was dust and a rain of broken pebbles that covered its vision, the Stringbeetle was sure that by close-range all would be cut down by the nigh sharpness of its inked wings. Curling its claws and tightening its jaw, the Stringbeetle's entire body was swiftly pushed due to the many Buso-imbued projectiles hitting it. Small amounts of blood drew from the wound on its neck, since it was also targetted by the attacks. Raising both its hands, the Stringbeetle cupped its head, sensations were building up throughout all of its frame, it took a few steps, wings still slashing at the projectiles. Thoughts, it was having thoughts, why? It had been using its wings flawlessly, then the both of them were going at different patterns, why? Why... what was it even thinking? ...Why was it thinking? Boom, the Stringbeetle's massive body walked yet again, this time making it turn directions, coincidentially, so that it stood in front Ain's uncoming person. The large insect hissed and lowered its arms, only then taking sight of her. Blood and armored skin flew across the atmosphere, they mixed with one another and some even got set ablaze. The Stringbeetle's eyes were pupiless and its mouth wide open, blood splashing out from inside it, while the soil resisted against its sliding feet. As if by sheer willpower, despite its earlier confusion, pupils flickered inside the Stringebeetle's eyes and it instantly slided its right arm horizontally. With a cry of the wind, it resisted no single second against the blackened swipe, which aimed for Ain's side. Even so, that had been the Stringbeetle's last cry, as for the following moment, it would be sent flying across the beach with a broken armor on its torso. Meanwhile, its other kin seemingly watched in wonder, eyes blinking rapidly as they followed what transpired. Oddly, they did so in a coordinated manner, in the manner that they followed each other's movements. The Stringbeetle's last attack hadn't been for naught, in fact, it had been an even trade with Ain's own attack. Ain was swatted like a fly to the side and she traveled a relatively long distance due to the attack's force before rolling across the ground repeatedly. With a now dirtied outfit, due to the fight and several small bruises across her body, Ain slowly stood up. "UGH," she cried, feeling a sharp pain building up on her left side. Her rib was severely bruised, if not fractured. Using her sword as an object to hold on to, she was able to stand up, despite her body telling her not to. "WHO'S NEXT?!!!!!" Ain screamed, she had noticed the other Stringbeetles, and regardless of her condition would fight them if necessary. Although she seemed weakened, her eyes showed quite the opposite. Her reddish orbs could be described as nothing less than fierce, not even bothering to blink. "Wonderful~!" A melodic voice could be heard from the surroundings. There was no specific location to attach the voice to, almost as if it simply appeared within Ain's head. "Your blade and your flame burn your enemies to ashes~ But come, let us expose it to more clashes~! Or can you not take any more...Al Khalifa Ain?!" The melodic voice, to any Pirate, would be recognized in an instant. It was Vice Admiral Archibald Minerva! But what was she doing here? That question was made clear as Ain suddenly could hear the sound of a violin playing in her head. The bugs seemingly moved in accordance to the violin, however, they did not make an attack, but rather, moved into a defensive position. A wall of stringbeetles lined up before Ain, goading her to make an attack, as their skin blackened, being coated in Busoshoku Haki. "Come, Ember Phantasm~! I shall ensure that this fight of yours...ends with your body in a chasm~!" Minerva's melodic voice described a chaotic scene, as she goaded Ain into attacking. The stringbeetles leaned forward, and their horns pointed towards Ain directly, letting Ain know their intentions were not to simply take her attack. The capability to move these bugs to her music was a specialty only known to Archibald Minerva. But it was not a Devil Fruit ability, contrary to popular opinion. It was a highly advanced variation of , dubbed Kagura. By tugging on the very heart-strings of a sentient creature through her music, and imparting her emotions into them, she can cause every manner of living being to follow her tune. To this extent, all of the super-bugs on Gloverive had become her subordinates, and would follow the tactician's orders to the letter. Truly, a terrifying Vice Admiral to face, especially in this territory. Ain's head flicked from side to side, initially trying to find her opponent. But of course, she couldn't. Recognizing that the voice came from no other than the Tidal Idol herself, she then turned her focus to the multiple stringbeetles lined up in front of her, horns facing her direction. Ignoring the acute pain on her left side, she accepted the challenge. "So, you're in charge of this whole thing. Where's Commander Gerhard?!" she asked before taking an exaggeratedly deep breath. This wasn't just for show though, as she opened her mouth, what appeared to come out was a humongous mass of dark-reddish flames. The entire area that surrounded Ain, seemed to heat up, and it melted the ground beneath them, as it made its way towards the stringbeetles. The force, speed, and heat of the technique far above of what most fire-centered attacks, or even Devil Fruits, could manage. "Ifrit's Cry!!!" she proclaimed, albeit mentally. The Tidal Idol could see, hear, and even feel the flames from her position, further inward in the island. For every use of Kagura meant that the senses of the victim and Minerva were intertwined. The heat had intensified, affecting Minerva's own concentration, and loosening the Busoshoku Haki hold on the stringbeetles. But Minerva wasn't about to give up from mere flames, "Kagura: Stringbeetle Song Formation~!" The stringbeetles lined up together, and in the next moment, a vicious concert of their cries could be heard together. They pierced through the atmosphere and into the ears of the surroundings, harmonizing perfectly together and roaring upwards in volume. The vibrations of the song began to physically interrupt the world, as shockwaves released from the stringbeetles' formation. The flames clashed against the shockwaves, beginning to slowly suppress the heat and cool down the race towards the Stringbeetles. But the intensity just hadn't been strong enough, nor fast enough. The flames had reached the beetles in time, and they had begun to ferociously burn. "No, not enough, I say!" Minerva roared telepathically, as the bugs began to fly and charged against Ain in one last desperate assault. Their advance was slowed by their pain, which was conversely felt by Minerva, but she continued onwards. Their horns were all pointed towards Ain's entire body, which, should contact be made, would no doubt cause excruciating damage. The cries from the Stringbeetles could be heard even from where Ain was standing, albeit suppressed by the flames. Soon, their harmonious roar became disorganized, and the burning beetles, who now approached Ain, used their voice one last time, a raw, unfiltered battle cry. Even if the volume or strength, wasn’t as strong as the aforementioned attack, Ain could feel the willpower radiating from it, not the will to survive, but to push their limits with one last move and of course, Ain would only receive such tenacity with her very own. “Very well.” she seemed to have calmed down, a small grin forming on her lips. “I’ll show you what it means to be a Knight of Hell.” Closing her eyes, Ain utilized her Kenbunshoku Haki to locate the exact position of the Stringbeetle’s, who emerged from the remains of the flame, all flying in different directions, yet converging upon a single target; Ain. As the Stringbeetle’s approached, head-first, their sharp points directed at Ain. With her eyes still closed, she grasped the hilt of her sword, whose entirety remained on its sheath and took a deep-rooted stance. Suddenly, smoke arose from the sword and its sheath, releasing itself gradually onto the air. She was heating up her blade with the powers her Devil Fruit. In her head, she could paint a picture quite vividly. Several silhouettes, all attacking from different angles. Their killing intent allowed her to see a future, a future where their horns pierced her fiercely, and she was consumed by the dying Stringbeetle’s. But no, she would not let that happen. She could not let that happen. Suddenly opening her eyes, Ain finally unsheathed her blade, the air around her suddenly getting hotter. Twisting her body almost simultaneously, Ain pivoted on her right leg with all her might as she spun full on 360 degrees. Her sword, imbued with Busoshoku Haki and at burning temperatures, sliced right through the Stringbeetles in one clean, fell swoop. The cries of the creatures diminished into nothingness, and only embers and ashes remained as the aftermath of her move. “Now, answer me, where is Gerhard?” she asked, her eyes, that were usually so tired, reflecting her determination. Like a flickering flame, becoming its former self once more. The sensation of fire, and of death, roared within the mind of the Vice Admiral. For every death that she was linked to with Kagura, her mind felt the same pain. Her body's senses roared, as if her soul itself was dying. Death, no matter how one trained against it, would always and forever be a painful sensation. But there was only one reason why the Vice Admiral had been able to continue standing despite first-hand feeling death. ---- Minerva's thoughts traced back to a few years ago, when she had first utilized her Kagura technique. It was on a small mouse, but that mouse had soon died against a predator. The sensation of death, that Minerva had never felt before, overwhelmed her mind and body to such an extent that she went into a temporary coma. Waking several days later, the Fleet Admiral, Kurama himself, had visited her in hospital. "F-Fleet Admiral...I...just felt death itself...I...I don't know if I can continue to influence life with my music..." Minerva spoke, her entire body quivering as she did so. She felt as if she had come back from death, no, she had come back from her death, and her body was unable to cope with the overwhelming sensation. "You can, Minerva." The Fleet Admiral's voice echoed in the room. This was the first time that Minerva had her voice in such a personal conversation. It was odd. The man that commanded such respect among the Marines, had taken out the time to see Minerva in this situation. "I witnessed your technique. Kagura, wasn't it? It was a splendid technique. You have reached a level of Kenbunshoku Haki higher than almost anyone I know. But yes, death...it is a barrier that no human can overcome." Minerva's expression had become even more grim. Was she fated to be powerless? Her comrades all possessed powerful Devil Fruits, cybernetic bodies, inhuman Martial Arts. And all Minerva possessed in her was her own force of will, and her drive for music. If she could not move beyond death...how would she proceed further in the Marines? "But were you a human in that moment?" Kurama asked Minerva a question, which suddenly made her jittery behavior stop. She looked at Kurama's powerful gaze, but it did not seek to intimidate her. It only sought answers, answers that Minerva did not have. "I...I don't know...Am I a monster, Fleet Admiral...?" "No." Kurama answered instantly. Minerva's heart stopped racing for a moment. But, if she was not a human, not a monster, what was she? "You were a Puppet Master. That animal you had controlled, was your puppet. A puppet master must feel the emotions of their puppet. But they must never be one with their puppet. So long as you remember that difference, the death of your puppet shall never break you down again. You will become the only master of Haki who has surpassed the idea of death." Minerva's eyes widened. All of her fear, and Kurama just cut through it in a single instant like it was nothing. She looked upon him in admiration. Truly, he was the "Sorcerer of the Sea", where every problem, to him...was solved like Magic itself. "However, one last thing, Minerva." Kurama asked for the Vice Admiral, grabbing her attention once more. "Make sure to never forget your fear and pain. Those characteristics are a quality of both a human and a Puppet Master." Kurama said, causing Minerva to become curious as to his intentions. "You are a woman that has lived beside death all your life and you know the taste of death more than any other. I am a man that will never know death. That is why you need to light up my path." Those words that Kurama said, shocked Minerva, but also had made her leap with unparalleled joy. In her entire career as a Marine, all Minerva desired was to be depended on. By somebody, by anybody. Finally...her music had reached its destination. ---- Minerva felt the pain, but she had surpassed it. Her eyes opened once more, and she scanned through her surroundings. In particular, she focused on a particular prison cell, which had currently been occupied, before once more brandishing both of her swords, and playing another tune. "Your Doctor of Games has operated himself out of this dilemma, Ember Phantasm!" Minerva announced boldly, as she once more focused her mind on the Kagura technique, this time, inviting new super bugs to dance to her melody, as her music covered the entirety of Gloverive once more. "Come forth, Mortar-ants!" Breezes, through unknown entrances, soared by Minerva's hair, "...Mortar?" A voice came from the cell that had been looked upon by Minerva, even if briefly. Should one gaze much close into it, they would see a bloody and tall figure, who sat with their legs spread out and hat covering their face, "Who does invade at this very moment?" Rising the hat and, therefore, their view, the person in the cell was Swann Rita, a member of the famed Gothic Labors. Their Hippolyta, she was finally awake from her previous battle with the Vice-Admiral. Figure all bloody, her red garments were not difficult to see, almost tarnishing her blonde hair. "Have other marines realized your mistake?" Rita's lips parted ever so slightly, letting out words that seemed like whispers, but could be easily heard by Minerva. "Or has one of my esteemed comrades come?" Yes, questions, all to be answered, she gave no thought to the notion of that monster in front of her feeling pain. Attacking Up Minerva's words may have been a call at that very moment, yet, when directed to Ain herself, they were nothing but a warning. Along them, a tremor ressonated along the island, making whatever birds that weren't caught in an insect's mouth flee to the skies. In fact, even other insects did. It was no surprise when someone told another, "Insects aren't intelligent." But, were they truly not? Wasn't that phrase simply a distortion of the fact that Insects don't share the same method of communication as humans? Only some knew, and amongst them was Minerva. Yes, these very unintelligent insects told stories about the Grim Reaper across the island of Gloverive. However, their Grim Reaper didn't wear black. Several red dots glimmered on the skies over the forest, before their figure whispered through the air and provoked a chain of explosions across the soil. Dust rose higher than some trees, many clouds temporarily covering the scenario. Before yellow, then white shone through the shadows, myriads of pairs setting on Ain's figure. The wind itself had seemingly changed directions, leaves rustling once again, and the waves quietly retreating into the seas. No, the Grim Reaper wore red. Two pairs of fangs, one signifficantly larger than the other, were notable amongst the dust. Saliva flew out of its mouth, passing by sharp teeth and falling on the soil, the soil also trembled in the wake of its steps. Antennae and claws went back and forth, producing odd but loud sounds, an extremely large ant had made its presence known to the Hell Knight, though, it was alone, figure flickering for a moment. Minerva's words were a warning indeed. Ain flinched at her call out to the creature that would soon appear before her. Its entrance was enough to warn Ain about the large ant, as debris and dust flew everywhere and the nature around her grew somewhat quiet, only the sounds of the ant could be heard. Then it appeared, but Ain seemed unafraid. As if she had seen living things as grotesque as these before. "More of your subordinates..." the Hell Knight bent her knees slightly, her hand on the sword's hilt. "It won't matter, I'll keep defeating one after the other until I can reach the Commander, even if it means I have to fight you, Minerva." Why was she so calm in a situation like this? Truthfully, she was worried, worried that she would let her comrades down, but it was for this exact same reason that she appeared visibly unbothered. Knowing that others trusted her and believed in her made Ain keep going, even if rage had built inside her, she would not let it take over, not yet at least. For once, she didn't make an offensive move but would wait until she could gain further information about the Mortar-ant. Her defense wasn't too shabby either. "Come at me." Defeating, she had said, not only that, she had waited for it to make a movement, perhaps thinking that the Ant also waited for her after arriving. A mistake? Be that her thought or not, the moment it appeared, the Mortarant had not stood still. Gusts of wind cried, myriads bodies of vegetation erupted into the air, at least, those that stood to their side. If Ain stood where she was, where she waited for the ant's movement, she would definitely feel it, a cross-shaped slash of pure pressure. However, it wasn't a straight offense. One of the strikes reached for the body of her sword, hitting in such a way to parry it off her guard, only so that the other strike could actually hit Ain's undefended figure. Steam blew between them, produced due to the friction created between the atmosphere and the Ant's long claws. An attack that could not only take the breath away from an opponent, but also slice a wound into their torso, blood painting into the ant's frame. Blocking or even deflecting it could have been something within Ain's range of power, after all, she had defeated a Stringbeetle on her lonesome. Yet, this was a beast that even that insect feared, the others from the String's pack stood far away. Could have been, however? Usually, moves from a combatant were telegraphed and predictable, but, the Ant had taken action even before the fight began. Back when the Mortar stood still before Ain, its figure had flickered, body distorting so that it could travel at amazing speed and leave an afterimage of itself behind. Indeed, the Mortarant was silent, quick, and precise, allowing for none to escape without effort, much like the Reaper itself. The slash tore through the air and the earth, its force signaling that the Mortarant was not an easy opponent. Its fierce attack made that evident. Ain could feel the threatening pressure approaching and for a moment it would seem there was nothing she could do about it. But there was. Yes, had she parried, the sheer might of the slash would have broken her defense, while the other would have severely damaged her. That was exactly why, Ain wouldn't protect herself against the attack, but rather, contest it. "The best defense..." she started, placing her right leg behind whilst cocking her sword-wielding hand back, the blade taking on a black hue. Additionally, heat seemed to radiate from her weapon. "is offense!" she finished, running towards the slash before thrusting her arm forward with all her might. The motion was clean, precise, yet strong and it seemed to rip the wind itself apart. The two attacks clashed and Ain was able to win the exchange, her flaming sword piercing straight through the cross-shaped slash. She didn't stop there though, as she continued to run towards the Mortarant, momentum carrying her forward. However, where her blade was supposed to meet flesh, it met nothing. Ain stabbed the air itself, as the image of the Mortarant vanished from sight. Her red pupils widened. She turned around, yet it was nowhere in sight. In hopes of slowing the beast down, where it to approach, Ain breathed fire from her lungs, the hot gas melting the ground beneath it as it naturally took the shape of a barrier of sorts. Activating her Kenbunshoku Haki, she would be able to foresee the Mortarants approach, after all, its killing intent would give it away. Once more taking a defensive stance, Ain waited, yet for some strange reason, with both hands on the hilt of her sword, they seemed to shake. Quietly, almost unnoticeable. Had it been recoil from an early attack? Or perhaps her nervousness upon the situation. Dancing Up Rita sighed against her hat, which had been lowered and covered part of her face. How she go caught and arrested here was beyond her imagination, to think this Singing Marine even had this much power. Her clothed skin shivered, yet, Rita rose her gaze. Several, though low, rumbles and explosions came through the facility occasionaly. Rita bit her lip and cupped her hat with her right hand, she had no way of knowing what exactly transpired. She was only ever good at using Busoshoku, not the other one, whatever it was even called. Still, she inquired at whoever stood close by her cell. "Has the island been invaded?" She pushed her hat upward with the tip of a finger. "Who is attacking?" "It seems like low profit targets, the Notch Pirates, are becoming higher profit targets-yomi." An unusual feminine voice said, as a small chuckle could be heard from the female guard. Her speech quirk was interesting, but more importantly, that large hat of hers was unusually...distinct. Without revealing her face to the prisoner just quite yet, the woman taunted Rita. "If you continue to waste time in there, you won't earn enough money to live-yomi." "Notch Pirates? Who are those nobodies?" Rita thought out aloud, letting a chuckle escape her lips subsequently. "Oh wait, they are no one if they are nobodies, silly Rita," She palmed the side of her head, indeed, not only was she saying weird stuff, she was beginning to hear things. When did the guard outside her cell become a trans? Or had he always had an effeminate voice and she hadn't noticed it in all her craziness? "Wasting my time? How dare you?" Rita tried to stand up, approaching the bars of the cell, hands cuffed. "And what's this on money, I can just ask around for it." "Come on Rita. Don't act like you don't know who I'' am-yomi. We're losing time and profit." The woman said with a sense of urgency, holding a key in her hand. "AH-" Rita covered her mouth before the yell was even fully out, eyeing the guard beside her cell with slanted eyes. A smile bloomed behind her hand, so she was to be rescued after all, by none other than Das Vidya, the Lernaean of the Gothic Labors and her very partner. No other guards were within close earshot of them, but Rita was sure that Minerva must have twitched wherever she was. She continued to somewhat whisper towards Vidya, "Say something before entering the cell, or else they'll-" Her words fell deaf upon the world, engulfed by a surging noise and a flash of orange. "VID-" Rita tried to jump towards Vidya, even if cuffed and bloody. Stones and other kind of debris flew, men screamed, dust erupted in various clouds, mixing in with the aforementioned orange. Orange of fire, a fire that went as high as the tallest mountain on the island. The smell of hot metal and stone filled the entire area, even the outsides of the marine base, evident by the rising cloud of smoke that could be seen from other parts of the land. Such iron came from the many cells containing myriads of criminals, some of which began to run. A figure stood amongst the smoke, on top of some debris, one foot higher than the other. "Who are you?!" Some soldiers pointed their rifles at the shadow. Rita tried to get up, more blood coming out of her head, she instantly looked around for Vidya. "My name is..." Their voice was distorted, almost rough, "Al Khalifa Ain." "That fire... I should have thought! REPORT IT TO THE OTHER BASE," One soldier screamed to one with a Den Den Mushi, "THE EMBER PHANTASM DESTROYED THE CENTRAL BASE AND FRED THE PRISONERS-" Two bullets seemingly risped by the two soldiers, hitting them in their throats and prompting blood to shoot out of their mouths, the one with the den den mushi fell over it. Stepping through the shadows, Ain's form was much clear, sneakers, pants, a beaked mask? Rather than what was said, who stepped out was Blumenthal Gerhard. Having been previously sneaked upon by one of Minerva's minions, he had been supposedly captured, the soldiers' eyes and teeth almost popped out of their skulls. "Sup'," He waved. "A 500,000,000 bounty-yomi? We aren't prepared for this, I can see too many losses-yomi. Let's go, Rita." Vidya gave her companion a pair of pistols and revealed her true form as a busty woman, with two large, pointed horns on her head, wearing an oriental, short kimono. She began to walk forward, awaiting for her companion to make the correct move before they could retreat from the situation they were in. "Hah, as if that ever stopped us!" In a swift movement, Rita's hands wrapped around the twin pistols, fingers ready at their triggers. They didn't just rest there, however. Pressing hard inwards several times with them, Rita smiled and fired a volley of bullets towards Gerhard's direction, littering the entire atmosphere between them with those. They came through several angles, since Rita had aimed for specific body parts of Gerhard. She sure wished she had her rapier, but this was good enough, as expected of her partner. "LET'S GO!" The sound of bullets would no doubt enter the Pirate's mind. He was an experienced Pirate, and his body and mind would instantaneously react to the sound of Rita's repeated shooting. This was Vidya's opportunity. She stepped forward, and as her foot tapped onto the ground, the sounds multiplied. There was no longer a mere volley of bullets. From Rita's positions, dozens, if not hundreds of bullets were fired all towards Gerhard in a single heartbeat. Some moved so swiftly that they possessed no shadow, and were all directed towards Gerhard's general location. ''Where they hit did not matter, as the ones that did hit surrounding Gerhard created an incredible impact, penetrating through their defenses, and no doubt forcing even the seasoned Pirate to keep his guard up. The speed of these bullets, and Rita's gunwork, was so impressive, that despite the hundreds of bullets flying through the air, only the sound of a few could be heard. In the midst of this relentless assault, Vidya and Rita leaped forward towards the opening Gerhard had made. Vidya's skin was blackened, prepared to take any measure of assault from Gerhard, and her horns were pointed forward, intending to storm through any opposition made by the Notch Pirate. Many sounds, many angles, this was too sudden for Kenbunshoku. Most of these would surely land their mark, Gerhard couldn't even find them. "The fuck?!" He couldn't help himself but let the words blurt out, he extended one of his arms in pure reflex and clutched nothing with the palm. Nothing, if that could be called the very air around them. Crackles surfaced from this same palm, which acquired an increasing orange and yellow tone. A bright flash illuminated that portion of the destroyed Marine Base yet again, appearing between the volley of bullets, some of which were already entering it, and Gerhard himself. Surely, some of the bullets would even melt at such an explosion, getting blasted away if that was not the case. However, having been so close and summoning it rather abruptly, Gerhard himself was thrown backwards by its force, he shut his eyes tightly. "Ghhh!" It was smaller than the other, yet the whole building shook and many soldiers lost their footing once again. Rita tried to cover her eyes and shield herself through blocking by crossing her arms in front of her. Along Vidya, she would possibly skid through the soil, even if just a bit, due to the sheer impact and force caused. But their combo had been successful, that idiot retaliated too abruptly to the point of attacking himself too. Had their bullets landed or not, Rita made short thought of it, she looked at Vidya and gestured for some sort of exit, a hole in the base's walls. "Let's go before the Vice-Admiral comes here!!" Rita gritted her teeth for a second, feeling some shakiness over some of her body parts. Vidya braced herself by covering her face with her arm, enabling her to still see in the midst of the grand explosion, although it was difficult. She found herself skidding through the soil with Rita, but their path did not change. She made her way through the hole in the base's walls, and managed to narrowly exit with Rita alongside her. The moment she had exited, the flurry of bullets seemingly disappeared, and those that caused an explosive impact had their shells lying on the ground. It was a phenomenon that the Pirate had likely never seen before, but it was too late to follow Vidya and Rita. They had made their way out of the base, and any further pursuit would have Gerhard entangled with more Marines than he no doubt bargained for. Somewhere near the Marine Base was the actual Ember Phantasm. Her breathing was slow and heavy, her ensemble was tattered and her injuries quite visible. And yet here she stood, gazing down at the Mortarant that had proven itself to be quite a formidable opponent. She pulled the sword out of its freshly deceased body, and swung the blade to her lower side with such strength that it caused the wind to blow, albeit weakly, smearing the blood from the sword across the floor in the process. Sheathing her sword, Ain closed her eyes and took a deep breath, taking a moment of peace in the chaos that had formed the second she had stepped into the island. The moment wasn’t long though, as a nearby explosion disturbed the few seconds of silence she had. Following the rising smoke, she made her way to the location and quite soon, ended up in a Marine Base. "Perhaps, this is where Minerva lies," her left hand immediately grab her sword’s hilt, as she stealthily crouched walking slowly through a pile of debris, someone had forced themselves in. Upon crossing this point, the familiar smell of ash and burnt iron assailed her noise. Then she saw him, the unmistakeable green jacket, brown hair and the height to match a large animal. "Gerhard-sama?" she asked, a smile etched into her face. "I’m glad you’re alright." "Ain, yer alive, not a surprise," Gerhard mused, opening his arms and doing gestures with his hands, "By chance." A cough, but he steadily continued. "I heard what'cha said about Minerva, the boss. I heard her voice too," He pointed for the building that stood a dozen feet from them, previously hidden by insect fluids and flora. "Our backup is already inside." Pointing at the base, which was way larger than the normal eye could see, Gerhard uttered. "Their auras're very faint, but this yer' chance, Ain," He gave her a thumbs-up, "I trust in ya' to help our backup, while I call even more peeps, that good?" Ain nodded in response, "Understood. I won't disappoint you, or Freyja." she claimed as she tightened her fists. Even after a fight that had left her damaged, she still found the motivation to carry on. She began to jog towards the nearby building, steeling her resolve as she did so, she understood fighting Minerva would not be easy and it could have deadly consequences. Making her way into the base, she felt the faint auras growing slightly stronger. "..." Minerva was silent as she felt the destruction of the insects she controlled, and the destruction of her own Marine base. As the auras of her prisoners escaped, and as new presences began to trail in, for the first time today, she had stood up and no longer played her instruments; her blades. Instead, she looked towards the direction that the Notch Pirates were coming from with a serious expression. "What worries me is not the Ember Phantasm. However, I suspect, from afar, what awaits me is another chasm." Minerva began to walk forwards, towards where she felt a new presence, suspecting that her opponents had another plan up their sleeves. ---- Outside, Gerhard ran through the wilderness of the island, randomly touching whatever he found on his way, be it some kind of tree or insect-like structure. A few seconds would pass, the touched subjects would brighten up during these seconds and then explode fierily, engulfing the areas surrounding them. These booms echoed through the island, smoke clouds visible even from far away, the screams of many marines came soon after. However, some of them shone a blue'ish white rather than the fiery, becoming large structures of ice. This was the power of Ensuing Chaos and Brusque Order. It was nothing new how Chaos could make the atmosphere rumble so much that its air became fire, however, Order worked by rapidly calming all of the molecules in its vicinity, thus reducing them to a much solid state. The umidity gathered to become just that, ice. "Is it the Ember Phantasm again?!" One soldier yelled, trying to adjust the aim of his rifle. "All this fire! But there is also so much ice," Their figures were all illuminated by either element. Gerhard took a glance backwards. "YES IT IS!" He shouted while cupping the air in front of him, he ducked to dodge some bullets and skidded against the ground. "ME AND SIR ALISTAIR HAVE JUST BEEN HAVING TOO MUCH FUN!!" ---- A series of booms echoed across the island, seemingly at random at first. But as one listened to these bangs and booms, a pattern quickly emerged. The beat of the music became louder, and louder, and louder. A fog began to roll in, the wind cold upon the marine's skin as Alistair began moving. The Headsman was many things, and a showman was one of them. He had quickly learned upon eating the Mase Mase no Mi that by producing gusts of air from his body rhythmically, he could imitate the drums of his music with air alone. A psychological tactic when he wasn't trying to be sneaky. Alistar calmly walked through the fog, dancing as he made his merry way down to the base. A man who had served the Yonko Shiguma for years, he had no fear of the Marines. And many Marines had a fear of him. After all, when the Headsman came to town, heads quite literally rolled. Continuing his inexorable march towards the Marine base, Alistair ran into the first pockets of resistance, a marine squad who seemed all too intent on impeding his progress. The pirate twirled his massive scythe as he cracked a smile. Shot after shot reached out for him, but each and every single one missed as the headsman approached, grinning menacingly in his stroll. By the time the leader called a retreat as their fire wasn't working, it was already too late. One swift movement was all it took, one leap on the beat, for the marines to lose their heads. Some of the heads were still alive by the time the bodies hit the floor, staring in shock as their consciousness faded. Eight heads face agasp in horror as they saw their bodies on the ground from above. Eight heads, resting upon the side of the scythe that pruned them like overripe wheat. Eight heads that would know no more. "DECAPITATIOOOOOOOOON!!!" The Vice Admiral, Minerva, had appeared before Alistair. She stood there, silently, realizing the bodies that had dropped on the floor. Her eyes were mourning. She looked towards Alistair, and drew both of her blades. Without a single word, she strung both blades together, as if she were wielding a violin. The shockwave emitted from the action was tremendous. The ground beneath her shattered, and debris began fly towards Alistair's location. "Your music causes my ears to bleed, Crowley Alistair." Minerva said almost solemnly, an expression of anger upon her face. It softened for a moment. "Of course, some people enjoy their music that way..." There was a small smirk on her face, until anger crossed her eyes, tainting them red, as they stared directly at Alistair. "However, I will not forgive your music for hurting my comrades!" "Well Excuuuuuuse me Princess. It's not my fault that your music has no bite." Alistair mocked the marine as he watched her complain. But mocking or not, her bow had some significant power behind it, or she wouldn't be a vice-admiral. Alistair knocked his scythe upwards, sending his trophies soaring upwards as he bent his knees to slink towards the ground. He sprang up, launching himself after his various heads an instant before the shockwave would have struck him. The ground beneath him continued to shatter, but now he was safely above it. "Why don't you ask your Marines how much of a bite my music have, they can tell you head to head." As Alistair reached the height of the former marine's skulls, he drew his massive warscythe back behind him, twisting it so the flat was what was facing forwards. "Well here it is, straight from the dead's mouth." He yelled as he swung his scythe. Fog rolled off it's edgings, the freezing wind marking it's passage. He struck all eight heads like a baseball bat, freezing their expressions with the bone-curdling wind even as they shot forward. Several fell prey to the aftereffects of the shockwave, but three made there way through, their deathly horror staring directly at their former commander. "..." Minerva stared at the soldiers under her command, being turned into toys for the Notch Pirate. It was a curdling feeling, something even more horrifying than dying. But Minerva did not speak a single word. The woman who had prided herself on her theatric singing instead strung her blades calmly. The tune of a violin followed through. However, this time the tune was not violent. It was a calm, soothing tune, almost as if Minerva was playing a lullaby. "Rest, my weary friends~ Do not worry, for I will bring his end~" Before the frozen heads could make contact with Minerva and impart their frozen touch, Minerva swung her swords in the direction that they hailed from, releasing bursts of pressure strong enough to stop the heads directly in their path, without completely destroying their expression. It stung Minerva's heart, having to do this to her comrades. However, she vowed to take it back from them. All the humiliation, all the suffering. She would be sure to enact it against Alistair. The beginning of this humiliation came from Minerva's blades. At the same instances that she sent those bursts of pressure towards the heads rolling towards her, Minerva had also flicked her wrists in the direction of Alistair, releasing numerous bullets of air pressure that sought to break the bones in every one of Alistair's limbs, all the while he was helpless in the air. ---- "I-It was all a ploy?!" A marine managed, his face and body pressed against the ground by Gerhard's foot, while the latter held something with his hands. He coughed, not only was he pressed in his lungs, but there was a lot of smoke around them, fruit of Gerhard's many explosions throughout the island. Gerhard had went down a large path with his explosions, with the Marines following his trail and trying to fight him mid-way. At some point, they found themselves just outside of the Marine base again, wherein Gerhard entered and dispatched most of the soldiers inhabiting it. Well, at least the ones that remained there, after all most of them left the base to follow him, but maybe that was quite the bad decision. For what stood atop Gerhard's palm was nothing more than a Golden Den Den Mushi. "The Den Den Mushi given to Minerva-san... no way, it was locked in an extreme security room, which even her couldn't break!" One Marine thought, feeling some beads of sweat roll down his face and neck. "I know it was given to her due to the dangerous species going out of control here..." "Riiight, ey' very rare item, aye?" Gerhard mused, eyeing the marines with a side glance. "I heard some of ye' talkin' about this thing... didn't think t'was true..." His cheeks puffed even further, "I also heard the warships used fa' this are way bigger than before." In fact, in the past of many decades ago, they were larger than giants even, it was no exaggeration that the warships designed for this were several times bigger. Minerva flashed by Gerhard's mind. "Tha' woman... from what I've heard, what I've seen... she can't be just killed, she can't just be defeated." Her image was substituted by an imagination of many warships in the horizon, "Tis' the only way to ensure her defeat." "Filthy pirate!! You dare use a Marine item and misdirect an assault like this?!" The Marine who had been thinking spoke out loud. "I'll just inform the headquarte-" Another marine's voice, a woman, overwhelmed the first marine's. "I-It's no use... the explosions hindered our Den Den Mushi connections..." The marine man gulped, the woman continued, "Only the best Den Den Mushi can contact anyone outside now..." She eyed the base behind them. "We don't have any time..." Gritting his teeth, the Marine Man dashed towards Gerhard, who smiled and closed his eyes. "Nah, you don't." Click. "The Silver Transponder Snail has received a signal!! The '''Buster Call' has sounded to Gloverive!!!"'' ---- The Buster Call, one of the main military attacks employed by the Marines, yet, one of its last resorts. A grand sign of their Justice... Ten gigantic warships, capable of fitting in a thousand soldiers, after all they had about quadruple the size of an average giant. Five of these ships took the lead in their stride through the ocean, led by some of the Marines' highest ranked members: Vice-Admirals. Henson P. Taraji, Hale Osiris, Bass Reeves, Gwilym, and Valentine B. Carter, all these Vice-Admirals stood at the frontdeck of their respective warships, head high and arms crossed. Gloverive could be seen as a dot over the horizon, an hour or two and they would arrive, ready to unleash their barrages of cannonballs. No mercy was at hand, once the Buster Call initiated, they shouldn't and wouldn't back off from their target until it was razed to the very ground. One thrown at that island in special only meant that the beasts inhabiting it have gone out of control. Bass Reeves stood at the helm of his ship which sailed with ferocious speed. It was almost as if the ship itself possessed an unforeseen hunger for blood and destruction. The mysterious gunman stood silent. His menacing aura shockingly powerful for one without a special power. His silence only added to this spirit shaking atmosphere. Head sitting high, the ebony woman standing at the front of her vessel looking over the ocean at the island in the distance. She said nothing and allowed her violet eyes to continue their motionless gaze. "Vice-Admiral Chahyou!" One of the Marine soldiers shouted, running up behind her with his hand at his forehead saluting his superior. "Everything has been prepared! We are ready on your command." Nodding, she dismissed the man and flung her beautiful green mane over her shoulders. She was Taraji, the eldest among the Vice-Admirals present and this wasn't her first rodeo. Eyes drifting to the vessels are her side, she waited on the order to prepare the cleansing. The tune of a fiddle pierced the air, soft but harsh in tone, it seemed to be mourning something. At the bow of his vessel stood the black-clad demon, fiery scarlet hair shimmering in the sun. His hands dancing across his instrument as he wove a morose tune. "Cannons?" The Vice Admiral called. "Ready and waiting sir." The crew called back. "Sails?" "At full, dial system is ready whenever." "Spirits?" "In service to you sir, in both this life and the next!" Their voices grew in vigor as they continued. "Then let us show these sorry sinners their grave my little devils." Valentine shouted, ethereal red flames flickering at the tips of his coat. The demon's tune echoed louder with a roar of approval from his crew. Killing Up "Keith, I think she wants to play." Alistair grinned as he twirled around his dread scythe, Keith. The weapon had stood by him for years, and would faithfully work with him for many more. The air whistled as the weapon whipped around, cleaving several air bullets out of the sky with each stroke. But Keith was only a single weapon. It couldn't stop all of them. Three shots in a small cluster struck through in quick procession, striking near his shoulder with the painful bolts. "You bitch." Alistair snapped as he spun Keith between him and the barrage, a wall of wood and steel that began to slowly draw the pirate forward. Alistair began to accelerate in mid-air as the wind from his scythe drew him around even as bolt after bolt was deflected. A tornado of frozen wind drew around Alistair as he ducked and Category:Role-Plays Category:DamonDraco Category:BQD Category:Dal101 Category:Ash9876